Audre Lorde Quotes

One should never, ever remain silent for fear of complexity,

It would have been more comfortable to remain silent.

I refuse to be silenced.

When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.

Never be bullied into silence.

I was going to die, if not sooner, then later, whether or not I had ever spoken myself. My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you.

More safe I sing with mortal voice, unchang'd To hoarse or mute, though fall'n on evil days, On evil days though fall'n, and evil tongues.

I wish I could shut up, but I can't, and I won't.

Anytime you're the first to speak out against something, there's going to be a backlash.

Never let anyone silence your voice.

We must say something, even when we know nothing.

I was silent as a child, and silenced as a young woman; I am taking my lumps and bumps for being a big mouth, now, but usually from those whose opinion I don't respect.

If you don't speak out now when it matters, when would it matter for you to speak out?

Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind - even if your voice shakes.

Desperation, weakness, vulnerability - these things will always be exploited. You need to protect the weak, ring-fence them, with something far stronger than empathy.

To sin by silence, when we should protest, Makes cowards out of men.

They'll never do this to you again.

He that would speak the truth must have one foot in the stirrup.

Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't dare express themselves as we did.

People and systems count on our silence to keep us exactly where we are.... in a world that wants us to whisper, I choose to yell.

I can't afford to be quiet all the time. I learned that.

Yeah, I kind of looked around and I can't understand why nobody else is speaking up. Later when I faced the backlash of speaking up, I realized why nobody did.

If you banish fear, nothing terribly bad can happen to you.

I don't fear death; I fear remaining silent in the face of injustice. I am young and I want to live. But I say to those that would eliminate my voice: I am ready, wherever and whenever you might strike. You can cut down the flower, but nothing can stop the coming of the spring.

Force is the antithesis of freedom, but force must be used, if only to defend against other force.